Harold Gordon Colson, USAF (Ret)

Lt. Col. Harold Gordon Colson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), 81, of Mount Pleasant, SC, died on April 12, 2015, at East Cooper Medical Center in Mt. Pleasant. A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 pm at The Palms, 937 Bowman Road on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 and a Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 am on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at the J. HENRY STUHR, INC. MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL, 1494 Mathis Ferry Road. The family will greet friends at the funeral home on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 from 2:00 pm until the time of the service. Interment with Military Honors will follow in Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens.
Known locally as "Hal," he was born in Hertford, NC, on September 16, 1933, to the late Melvin John Colson and Jessie Mae Skinner Colson. He married Shirley David Moore in Norlina, NC, on June 24, 1955.
Upon graduation from East Carolina University in 1955, he was commissioned in the USAF and served primarily as a rescue and transport pilot for some 25 years, finishing his career at Charleston AFB. His military service included flight assignments on C-54, C-141, and other aircraft in Puerto Rico, Argentina, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Guam, California, Thailand, and Maryland. A decorated Vietnam War veteran, Hal received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and various other awards over the years. His DFC was earned in June 1965 for coordinating the combat rescue of an F-4C pilot downed in North Vietnam. Following his Air Force career, he founded the successful area company Resort Maintenance, Inc. He enjoyed playing golf and bridge.
In addition to his parents, Hal was preceded in death by a brother, Melvin John Colson, Jr.
Surviving are his wife Shirley; three sons: Harold G. Colson, Jr., and his wife, Deborah Kegel, of San Diego, CA, Kevin W. Colson, and his wife, Julie, of Mt. Pleasant, and Kenneth W. Colson, and his wife, Diane, of Nashville, TN; four granddaughters, Mandi Blochberger, Sarah Colson-Kegel, Daphne Colson and Gaura Mehta; one grandson, Kevin W. Colson, Jr.; and one great granddaughter, Allie Grace Colson.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Building Fund, First United Methodist Church - Isle of Palms, P.O. Box 807, Isle of Palms, SC 29451.